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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28005855">Ghost In The Dark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DumbassWhoWritesAt3AM/pseuds/DumbassWhoWritesAt3AM'>DumbassWhoWritesAt3AM</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(Maybe? I'm not sure), Angst, Can you tell I'm playing around with the DreamSMP ghost traits, Cannon Divergent, Character Death, Dead TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Dead Wilbur Soot, Death, Dissociation, DreamSMP - Freeform, Drowning, Gen, He's kind of a dick, I made that up but feel free to use it, I'm so sorry guys, Manipulative Relationship, No Romance, Ranboo OOC, Suicide, Toby Smith | Tubbo Angst, TommySpirit (Video Blogging RPF), Zoneing out at the very least, depressedinnit, i'll add tags as i go, so much angst you guys</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:01:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,776</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28005855</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DumbassWhoWritesAt3AM/pseuds/DumbassWhoWritesAt3AM</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Something terrible happened to Tommy. But he hasn't realized yet. </p><p>Everyone else has.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>386</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. "You're going crazy"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Ok so I got this idea from a Discord chat, Mason if you're reading this what's up. </p><p>Also, I put part of this chapter in the same server, so if you see that, don't be worried about plagarism. </p><p>I'll be continuing this (hopefully), so enjoy!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>     “Damn these skeletons,” Tommy said again, as he turned to hit one. He saw something out of the corner of his eye. At first he thought it wasn’t real, something imagined, the thought of his “friend” still burning with resentment in his mind. But no.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Tubbo stood staring at him, eyes wide. He held something small, gripped in his right hand. He was crouched low, right outside the portal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Almost as quickly as the encounter began, Tubbo rushed into the portal. All that was left of him was the glow of the portal and a fuzzy memory, clouded by the darkness of the night. He stared, still and silent, which was unusual to his old self, but seemed to be happening more and more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>     His shock was interrupted by Dream, who came from over the hill.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Hey Tommy!” he yelled. “Come here for a second!” Tommy broke his eyes away from the portal and went towards the hill.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     On the hill, Dream had dug a hole. “Put your armor in there,” he said. “Your axe as well.” Tommy obliged, his mind still on what had just happened. Dream pulled some TNT out from his pocket. “Light this for me, okay? I don't have a flint and steel”. Tommy grabbed his out of his pocket, and then realized what this would lead to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “I..don’t want to," he stated, more of a question than a comment. Dream shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Tommy looked at the flint and steel in his hands. Then, emotionlessly, he lit the dynamite and threw it in the hole. A blast of heat rose, but all he could feel was the coldness. The noise shook the trees.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     “Good”, said Dream, observing the damage. As he cleaned up the debris, Tommy looked back to the forest, near the portal. Left of it was a figure, crouching low. Twilight had passed, but         Tommy knew who it was. Hesitantly, he asked Dream “Hey, do you see anything?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Dream didn't even look up - he had a suspicion of what Tommy was talking about. It meant his plan had worked. He played dumb. “No, nothing’s there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     He muttered under his breath, loud enough for Tommy to overhear. “You're going crazy”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>     At first he didn't believe it. “You're lying, “ Tubbo said to Dream. It was some kind of sick joke, some way to guilt trip him after exiling Tommy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream shrugged, his mask hiding his true motives. “Come and see for yourself if you want,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>     If it was some kind of psychological warfare, or to make him search for Tommy if only to get ambushed, it worked. Tubbo had gotten out his compass and went looking for his friend. He felt guilty about the whole thing anyway. It's not like it was HIS fault. The people had spoken. It was in the country's best interests if he exiled his friend. God, how politics can be cruel. Anyways, It’d be nice for him to see Tommy, just to check up on him. They didn't even have to talk. He’d just take a quick look around, see how exile was treating his friend. Hopefully not like Wilbur. When he started talking with Dream…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Tubbo needed to see Tommy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     In front of the portal entrance, he gave himself a quick pep talk. “Alright, stay low, don’t be seen. When you see Tommy, go right back in the portal.” Don't give anyone the satisfaction of seeing you there, he thought. Tubbo took a deep breath and stepped through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     He popped out and immediately crouched down. In front of him, he saw Tommy killing some skeletons. His immediate feeling was relief. Oh thank god, he’s here. Tommy was in exile, and while looking a bit worse for wear, at least he wasn’t....</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>     Wait.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>     This... wasn’t normal Tommy. He was paler, and skinnier, but that could be put up to his exile. He looked subdued, but that could also be Dreams doing. What worried him most was how quiet he was. Not only because of his lack of voice, which overtook every conversation he participated in, but his movements, his steps were muffled as well. Silent, actually. He looked at Tommy’s feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     They didn't touch the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Tubbo sucked in his breath. Tommy’s skin wasn't just pale, it was translucent. One of the skeletons shot an arrow that breezed right through him, and hit a tree. Phantom smoke emerged from where he was shot. Then, he caught sight of Tubbo. There was a dead glaze in his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Shocked still for a few moments, Tubbo regained composure and almost fell back in though the portal. He covered his mouth. “No,” he whispered. His eyes started to tear. Dream couldn't have let this happen. Wouldn’t have. He promised, didn't he?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>     After having asked Dream how his friend was, he replied with a simple “Tommy’s gone”. After being asked to explain, he repeated it. “Tommy’s gone”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     He’s gone. And you let it happen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>     He went back through the portal. There must have been some mistake. It was a trick of the light. He hadn't seen it correctly, it was too dark. It was night now, but he could make out 2 figures on the hill next to him. There were torches scattered about, but he could still only make out silhouettes. One figure was taller than the other, suited in armour. The other was short, had no armor, and looked pathetic next to his partner. Suddenly, the pathetic figure was lit up by a stick of TNT, which was quickly thrown down. The light went right through the ghost, and in front of him Tubbo could see his masked elder. An explosion blasted, hurting his ears. The light went dim. Still, Tubbo could see his friend turn and stare at the woods where he was standing. He then turned back and walked away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Tubbo wanted to stay longer, but the armored figure came back to the hill. He turned his head like he was looking for something. Someone. Tubbo bolted back to the portal, and kept sprinting until he found himself coming up to his bench.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     OUR bench, he thought, and tears returned to his eyes. His thoughts overtook him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     How could he let this happen? How could DREAM let this happen? Dream always wanted Tommy gone. Why wouldn’t he take care of it himself? How did it happen? Did Dream stab him, or push him, or did he have one of his lackey's do it? How was he dumb enough to let Tommy be taken away? It wouldn't have been so bad with the walls around their country. They had each other. Can you take back an exile? What's the opposite of an exile? Maybe he could do that, force Tommy back to the country. Can you unexile a DEAD PERSON? Can you do ANYTHING with a ghost? How do laws effect ghosts?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     Does Tommy even remember me? What if he tells Dream? Then they could be dead together...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     One thought that he knew was irrational sprang into his mind: “Maybe its not real. It was dark, you couldn't see well”. But it was real. Too real.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>     He sniffled. He saw it with his own eyes. He said to himself “You're going crazy.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Ignorance is Weakness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The water was calm and cold, with no waves crashing to shore. He let out a slow breath, and watched as the air bubbles rose to the surface. It was too late to start swimming up now. The deeper he went the more the water hugged him. Even though his senses were muted by the water, he knew he was alone. Heat from his struggling lungs warmed his chest. It was pitch black, but he could feel his eyes close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tommy woke up in a cold sweat, which only made his nightmare feel more real. It wasn't the first time he’d had it. The dream had woken him so many times he began to wonder if it wasn't just a dream. He had recently ‘moved’ to an island, while l’manburg had no huge bodies of water. He seemed to be swimming a lot more. Sometimes he would zone out, and come to in the lake by his tent, a metre underwater. Drowning had never been a fear of his, but that was before. A lot has changed since his exile, maybe his fears had changed as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tommy came out of his tent, and realized it was close to midday. Dream was already awake, chopping wood in their little forest. Wilbur floated next to him, eager as always.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Hey, sleepyhead,” Dream said. “About time. Half the days gone by.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Hello Dream, Wilbur,” Tommy said. “It's been awhile since I've seen you here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     It had been a while since he’d seen anyone, really. Usually, there were chores to do, and he would meet up with a few people and they’d do them together. But for the past few days, he’d only seen Dream. The last time he’d seen Wilbur was when he gave him the compass, that pointed at Tubbo’s house. The sentiment was there, but it was a bit heartbreaking to ‘see’ what he couldnt have.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “It has been a while, hasn’t it?” said Wilbur. “Say, have you gotten a haircut?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tommy swept his hair back. “No, why do you ask?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You look… different! More like me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tommy hoped that wasn’t still about his hair. He needed to get it cut soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Hey, I was thinking. We haven't seen much of anyone lately”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “YOU haven't seen anyone,” interrupted Dream. They were on the beach now, Tommy and Dream walking on the sand, while Wilbur floated left to right, his attention on something new every second.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Alright, I haven't seen anyone lately. But I’d like to. I was thinking of holding a celebration of sorts”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     This caught Wilbur’s attention “A party?” He said with excitement. “Can I make a cake?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yes, you can!” Tommy replied, causing Wilbur to start listing the ingredients to make one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “A party, Tommy? You really think people want to see you right now?” Dream said, ignoring the recipe being directed at them. “I’m not saying no one would come, but, well, they exiled you for a reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Then why did Tubbo come to see me yesterday? Tommy thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     ...Did Tubbo come to see him? Lately his dreams had been confused with his reality. What if Tubbo was just another case of that? Besides, Dream was right. Who’d want to see someone he’d just exiled?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Still, Tommy could hope. “Yeah, why not? They all probably miss me every day.” False confidence was key in these situations. “I can make the invitations and set up, Wil can make the cake-” this warranted an “oooh” from Wilbur “-and you can gather supplies and hand out invites.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Dream contemplated this for a second. “Where will we hold it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Right out on the beach. It’ll be a beach day! Tell them to bring their speedos.” he added, jokingly, even though swimming was a sore subject for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Hey guys, look at this!” Wilbur came over and held up a salmon. “Isn’t she a cutie?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     "Very nice, Wil,” Tommy said, although he had no idea how to tell if the fish was a girl or not. While Wilbur released the fish, Tommy said “Y’know, Wil’s been a lot happier since… well, y’know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yeah, but a lot less helpful,” replied Dream. “Even when he comes along to help mine, he doesn’t work. He doesn’t get social cues, either. He’s still trying to repair things with Fundy, even when he can't remember him half the time. It’s pathetic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Well he seems to be doing a lot better than before he met you.” Tommy’s memory hadn’t totally failed him. He still could recall why Wilbur went insane. “Besides, who cares if he’s a bit of an idiot now? Ignorance is bliss, after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Tommy, don’t tell me you want to be like him when you die.” He gestures at Wilbur, who was tryng to kiss a different fish he found. “He might be happier, but he’s weaker, too. Promise me you won’t end up like him, Tommy.” Even with his face covered, Tommy could tell he was being sincere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Good,” Dream said, patting Tommy on the head. If anyone else had done that, Tommy would have yelled at them. “Don’t say that ‘ignorance is bliss’ shit around me again. It’s about time they changed that expression.” He pulled out an axe, and twirled it in his hand, and said “How about, instead, we say ‘Ignorance is Weakness’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tubbo woke up the next morning, still tired. Obviously, he hadn’t slept well last night. Then he remembered why. He hopped out of bed ready to start a hopefully informative day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     After some deliberation on who to talk to, he decided on talking to Ranboo. Being new to the server, he didn’t have any long-standing alliances. He would go with whoever needed help, or just tag along for fun. He had hung out with Dream recently, too. Tubbo called him, and scheduled a meeting. He made it look casual, too, to avoid suspicion. He wasn't sure if Dream had seen him last night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     They met on the path. After greetings, Tubbo innocently asked “Have you seen Tommy recently?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yes, actually. He’s doing okay” Ranboo replied. He added nonchalantly “Have you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yes. I went to his island last night”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Oh.” He looked down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Well? How long has he been dead for?” he yelled. “How come no one decided to say ‘Oh, remember your best friend that you exiled? Well, he got stabbed by Dream, it was a horrid thing to watch”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “He didn’t get stabbed.” Ranboo realized what he’d said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tubbo stopped. “Then how did he die? Were YOU there watching?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “No, no, NO.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He paused. “Alright. Well, me, Dream, and Sapnap were dragging Tommy through the nether. I was going to ask, but Dream hit me ‘accidentally’ with the back of his axe.” He pulled down his collar to show Tubbo a bruise. “I asked him later, and he said that no one needed to know about it.” He added slyly, “If I had to guess, I’d say he died in the nether. They've been there all     the time recently, and I saw Tommy eyeing the lava a few times.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tubbo was speechless, but not for long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “...That man has NO CONSIDERATION FOR ANYONE!!!” They were really yelling now. ‘What? Does he want to keep everyone in the dark about this, might I add, PRETTY DAMN IMPORTANT ISSUE? He could have sent a letter if he didn't have the time to say it face-to-face!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Shhh!” Ranboo whispered loudly. “You're not supposed to know! He thinks you’ll tell-” He caught himself, but it was too late.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Tell who? Who Would care about this more than I would?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “...He doesn’t want you telling Tommy. He doesn’t know he's dead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The conversation halted. At first, Tubbo thought he was being lied to. But, he saw the look in Ranboo’s eyes. A look of guilt and sincerity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “How does he not know? Is Tommy really that dense?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “He’s probably got a shoddy memory, like Wilbur. I bet he doesn't even remember dying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tubbo weighed his words. “Do… do you think he remembers me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Of course he does,” Ranboo said, without hesitation. “I’m sure he misses you every day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tubbo doubted that. HE was the one who exiled Tommy, so why would Tommy miss him? Plus, Tubbo didn't trust Ranboo. He seemed to have moved past the “How” of Tommy’s death too quickly. Just because Ranboo was new, didn’t mean he already had favorites. Then again, he could just be sacred of Dream. He was at least giving part of the truth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Before they said their goodbyes, Tubbo asked one more question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Why doesn’t Dream Tell Tommy he’s dead?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Ranboo laughed. “Do you know how much mischief Tommy could get into without fear of getting punished? It’s better this way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Don’t give me that bullshit. What's the real reason?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Ranboo hesitated. “Dream… still wants to keep an eye on Tommy. He’s a loose cannon, Tubbo. He wants to monitor him. Even in death he’s still as crazy as ever.” Tubbo knew that was a lie, but kept quiet. “If he’s in the dark about it, he’s easier to watch.” He noticed the doubt in Tubbo’s eyes. “Don’t worry, he’s doing great. He’s happier not knowing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Tubbo had had enough. He left, silently steaming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Dream wasn’t trying to watch Tommy. He was subduing him, keeping him locked up, depressed. He didn’t care what Ranboo had said. In this case, he was WORSE off not knowing. The situation only benefited Dream. For Tommy, this ignorance was weakness.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'll be updating this as soon as I can!</p><p>Shoutout to IPurpleLife for telling me how to format/add in page indents</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. He didn't notice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Not me projecting onto Tommy. </p><p>Enjoy some cold hard suffering, you nerds.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Waves crashed against the shore. Colorful umbrellas lined the beach, with lounge chairs lying under them. The moon shined on the pearly sand. It was a setup straight out of a country club’s private beach. Everything but the steady waves were still, including Tommy. He sat on a fold-out chair pulled up to a table, motionless except for blinking. </p><p> </p><p>     He heard something from behind him; a door slam and footsteps. The footsteps came closer, and stopped right next to him. </p><p>     “No one came?” Dream asked. </p><p>     “No one came,” Tommy parroted. </p><p>     “Well, that's not true. I came, right? I mean, all you need is one good friend.”</p><p>     Oh. Conversation. As much as Tommy didn’t want to talk, he knew he needed to. He shook his head slightly and his eyes started to refocus. They landed on the cake in front of him. Dream picked up the knife. </p><p>     “Want a slice?”</p><p>     Tommy shook his head. As hungry as he was, he had no appetite. He had eaten close to nothing all week, surviving on water, potions, and nervous energy. Whether this was because of forgetfulness and not eating all day until he was starving, being so busy planning the party that he would forgo meals, lack of appetite with hunger bringing him needed numbness, or a sick amalgamation of all three, he couldn't tell. He knew he looked and was treating himself like shit, but he couldn’t help it. He felt pretty shitty as well. </p><p>     “I’m sorry that no one showed up. I handed out the invitations you gave me to everyone I saw,” Dream lied. “I guess they had better things to do.”</p><p>     Better things to do. What was better than going to a party? A BEACH party. A beach party held  by an evicted citizen. </p><p>     Oh. That’s why</p><p>     “Wil left,” Tommy stated. Wilbur had brought the cake when the party was supposed to start, but had left after a few hours when no one had arrived. </p><p>     “You should go to bed, Tommy. You’ve been out here for hours.” Dream picked up the cake platter. “Here, I’ll clean up.”</p><p>     Tommy stayed still. He was gone again. </p><p>     “Tommy.” Dream put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Tommy flinched again. When he looked up at Dream, he realized that he had taken his mask off. He was pretty plain looking, but he had a defined scar on his left cheek. </p><p>     “Look. I’m so sorry for what happened today. But you know I’ve always got your back. No matter, what, I’ll be here for you. Okay?”</p><p>     Tommy let out a small breath, and said “Okay.” </p><p>     Dream smiled faintly, but his eyes here cold. “Good, now go to bed. You're tired.”</p><p>     As Tommy got up to walk away, he added “and change your clothes, too. They're sobbing wet.”</p><p> </p><p>     Tommy couldn’t sleep. The nerves of the whole week, among other things, kept him up. He needed some kind of background noise, and all the waves did was remind him of his nightmare. He stumbled out of bed, but down a torch, and went to his chest. He needed music, and right now he wanted mellohi. </p><p>     It wasn’t in his chest. </p><p>     He looked for his other disc, cat. He couldn’t find that either. He checked the chest again, under his bed, anywhere and everywhere. The discs were nowhere to be found. </p><p><em>      No. </em> He did <em> not </em> just lose the discs. This forgetfulness of his had gotten the best of him. His memory had been getting worse. He’d forget meals, even after Dream had reminded him. He’d forget what he was doing at times, even so far as to get stuck in the nether for an hour, having forgotten what chore Dream had sent him to do. He even forgot to set up the volleyball net, which he and Wilbur had decided would be the <em> piece de resistance </em> of the whole party. He was <em> still </em> finding himself in the water with no memory of how much time had passed. </p><p>     And now he had forgotten where the discs were. The discs that gave him comfort in one of the loneliest times of his life. The discs that were fought over, that had enough value to start a war. The discs that had gotten him exiled in the first place. </p><p>
  <em>      Well guess what, Tubbo. The discs are gone now. Let me back in please.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>     The discs were gone. The discs that he had listened to with his best friend, hours on end. Their one solace in their war wounded world, along with each other. The discs were a piece of Tubbo that he would never get back. The main reason for throwing this stupid party was to see, talk to him again. The last time he’d seen him, it was in a dream. Even in the dream, they hadn’t talked. They just stared at each other until Tubbo left through the portal, never to be seen again. </p><p> </p><p>     Tommy’s shaking ceased as numbness took over. He was greeted into a thankfully dreamless slumber. </p><p> </p><p>     On his little card table set up outside, the discs laid next to a stack of construction paper, markers, and a kiddy ‘Make Your Own Party Invitation’ kit that Wilbur had brought. A sly hand picked up all the contents of the table and took them with him. </p><p>     Tommy woke up the next day well rested. As for the tables shifted contents, he didn’t notice. </p><p> </p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>     “Come on man, let’s go!” Fundy yelled. Him, Ranboo and Tubbo were flying around on Tubbo’s work-in-progress mob farm. Well, ‘on top of’ might not be the best phrasing. In fact, they were on level with the sea, with the main part of the farm being in a pit below, surrounded by huge walls to stop the water from flowing in. </p><p> </p><p>     This had been happening a lot. Not just flying around the farm, but Tubbo hanging out with Fundy and Ranboo. The former he knew from a long way back. Fundy was an original citizen of l’manburg. While he had rebelled eventually, Tubbo couldn’t blame him. It was more against his father than the country. While Wilbur had been a great friend, he was a sub-par dad. And Ranboo, after confiding in him about Tommy’s condition, had become a pretty close friend as well. In a group like this, Tubbo felt the weight of being president lift right off his shoulders. He felt <em> normal </em>, for a change. </p><p>     “Hey, guys, watch this!” He yelled. Tubbo threw his trident across the pit and grabbed on to the attached rope tightly. It was raining, and the drops felt cool against his face. He jumped off the ledge. </p><p> </p><p>     “...You okay Tubbo?” Fundy said. “You fell <em> hard.” </em></p><p>     “Wait, did I let go? I could've sworn…”</p><p>     “Your trident didn't reach the other side,” said Ranboo. “You plowed right into the floor.”</p><p>     Oh. Tubbo didn’t see where the trident had landed because of the rain. He had assumed he was safe. Next time he would pull on the string to make sure. </p><p>     “Well, now that you're awake, we should get your things. We left them down there while bringing you up.” Fundy started down the haphazardly placed ladder.</p><p> </p><p>     Despite being unfinished, the floors were a smooth stone that looked almost polished. Tubbo found most of his things, but realized he was missing something. When he expressed this, Fundy said “Oh, your trident. Sorry, I didn't see where it landed.”</p><p>     “No not that.” Tubbo second guessed himself. “Well, yes, the trident as well, but my compass, as well. </p><p>     “Oh, your compass.” Ranboo said. Tubbo had told him about its importance. “Here, I’ll help you look for it.”</p><p> </p><p>     They searched around the entire hole, to no avail. After Tubbo’s close call, no one was in the mood to fly around. </p><p> </p><p>     Tubbo was disappointed with himself. He had lost his one link to Tommy. It had been so long since they’d seen each other in a proper setting. It had been over a week since he’d seen him, period. And they hadn’t even talked. And he knew that Tommy had no idea what had happened to himself…</p><p>     On that fateful day, Tubbo decided that he would see Tommy, and tell him the truth. It seemed cruel to keep the knowledge to himself. </p><p>
  <em>      Besides, who better to tell him than me? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>     About 2 metres away from the ladder were a bunch of loose stones and pebbles. Scattered among them were metal shards, and by one of the larger stones was a bright red needle. While Tubbo climbed out of the pit, his mind elsewhere, he didn’t notice. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I have the whole fic planned out now, and since I'm on break, expect more to come!!</p><p>Also expect soul crushing angst. Like seriously. I don't know why I write like this.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 'Interesting,' he thought</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>     “He did <em> what </em>?” Tommy said, his voice strained. </p><p>     “Burnt it. Well, rumor has it,” Dream replied. “And for me, I believe the rumor.”</p><p>     They had been traveling on one of the nether walkways, hauling iron back to Logcheshire. The walkway itself was hastily strung together, and while about to collapse if another person went on it, provided an unobstructed view of the magma pools below. It also made these pools incredibly easy to fall into. Tommy knew first hand, having fallen many times. </p><p>“That’s ridiculous.”</p><p>     “Well, it’s gone at the very least. Sapnap talked to Ranboo, and he said Tubbo doesn’t have it anymore.” He left out the part where Ranboo said Tubbo was devastated by the loss. “I believe Ranboo, he’s a good guy.”</p><p>     Tommy stared at the lava, processing the information. </p><p>     “I’m sorry that you had to learn it this way,” Dream came closer to Tommy, and reached for his shoulder. “But you know I’ll always be here for you, even if he-”</p><p>     As Dream laid his hand on him, Tommy grabbed his arm and pushed it away. Tommy grabbed <em> his </em> compass, <em> Tubbo’s </em>compass, out of his pocket. He snapped his arm back to throw it. But, he didn’t follow through, staying in the position of a pitcher ready to strike out the other team. </p><p>     “Do you really think it's true?” He said loudly, trying not to yell but failing. </p><p>     “...Maybe.” After all, he only knew what he had heard. Rumors are rumors, right? <em> He </em>couldn’t be held responsible for anything. </p><p>     Dream looked at the boy, and saw a pained look in his eyes. “...How about you sleep on it?”</p><p>     Tommy stared at him. Suddenly, he threw down his arm, the compass still in his hand. Staring at the floor, he said “You know I don’t sleep anymore.”</p><p>     Behind his mask, Dream’s eyes widened. </p><p>
  <em>      He couldn’t know. Could he? </em>
</p><p>     Tommy started walking away, without his bag full of iron. </p><p>     “Hey, Tommy, home is the other way. And don’t forget your bag.”</p><p>     Tommy stopped. “Oh, right, sorry.” He rushed over to Dream and grabbed his bag. “Sorry, it's just... my memory hasn’t been the best lately.”</p><p>     Dream’s worries subsided. <em> Oh, he’s clueless.  </em></p><p> </p><p>     Back at his tent, Tommy wasn't sleeping, just like he said. But this was no random bout of insomnia. </p><p><em>      That bastard! </em>  He thought. <em> Who does he think he is? Not even just letting my compass rot ina chest somewhere, but BURNING it?! And obviously he bragged about it to someone. How else would it get out? </em></p><p>
  <em>      After all we've been through, after all he’s done to me, not only letting me rot on this godforsaken island without even a letter, but burning my compass and making sure I know about it? If he were here now I’d- </em>
</p><p>     “That’s it!” he whispered to himself. </p><p>     He lit up a torch and got out a book and quill. He wrote down his plan as it came to him, so he wouldn’t forget. Then, he started drafting an invitation. </p><p> </p><p>     Dream found Tommy asleep at his ‘desk’. In front of him, he found a piece of paper listing, among other things, a location, date and time</p><p><em> Interesting, </em> He thought. </p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>     “What is it?” Tubbo asked, trying to be polite, but failing. </p><p>     Ranboo had just shown up at his base, sweaty and uninvited. He hadn’t even bothered to knock, instead just bursting through the door. </p><p>     “It’s- its Tommy,” he said. That caught Tubbo’s attention. </p><p>     “Why? What’s wrong? Is he hurt?” He realized he already knew the answer to the last question. </p><p>     “No, nothing’s wrong with him.” Ranboo took off his backpack, and took something out of it. It was a small envelope. He handed it to Tubbo. “He told me to give this to you.”</p><p>     Tubbo stared at the envelope for a while. </p><p>     “Well, come on, open it,” Ranboo said impatiently. </p><p>     “Alright then, jeez.” Carefully, as not to accidentally tear the letter, he ripped off the envelope’s top. Inside was a small handwritten note. It said:</p><p> </p><p>𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒯𝓊𝒷𝒷𝑜, </p><p>𝐼'𝓂 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓈𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒹𝓊𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝓃𝓈𝑒𝓉, 𝑜𝓃 𝒟𝑒𝒸𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝟤𝟤𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟢. </p><p>𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝑜𝒹𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓉𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝓁. </p><p>𝓀𝑒𝑒𝓅 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓈 𝐻𝐼𝒢𝐻𝐿𝒴 𝒞𝒪𝒩𝐹𝐼𝒟𝐸𝒩𝒯𝐼𝒜𝐿. </p><p>𝒟𝑜 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝐸𝒱𝐸𝒩 𝒴𝒪𝒰𝑅 𝒪𝒲𝒩 𝑀𝒪𝒯𝐻𝐸𝑅 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓉. 𝐸𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒟𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂. </p><p>𝒮𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓁𝓎, 𝒯𝑜𝓂𝓂𝓎</p><p><br/>
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: GO TO CHAPTER NOTES IF YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING)</p><p>     “The part about Dream is definitely true,” Ranboo said, reading over Tubbo’s shoulder. “He gave me the letter while Dream was far ahead of us. He said that it should ‘stay between us’”</p><p>     Tubbo stared at the letter. It couldn’t have come at a better time.</p><p>     “This is great!” He beamed. “I wanted to meet up with him, but I couldn’t find a way to get in contact with him. I guess he found me instead.”</p><p>     There was another reason why Tubbo hadn’t scheduled anything. Dream was still keeping an incredibly close eye on Tommy. When Tommy wasn’t alone on the island or with Dream, the green dictator would pick out who could come see him. Most people from El Rapids weren’t allowed to come, and even Wilbur hadn’t been on ‘the list’ lately. Tubbo didn’t think he was ever on ‘the list’. It was a small miracle that Ranboo had been seeing them regularly. Recently, Dream had been turning away almost EVERYONE, so it was just him and Tommy alone. But since Tommy didn’t want Dream to know about this meeting, it should be easier to sneak around without fear of what punishment would await if he were to get caught. </p><p>     “It’s on the 22nd?” Ranboo said. “That’s in two days.”</p><p>     “Then I have plenty of time to get there,” Tubbo replied. </p><p>     “Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” Ranboo picked up his bag to leave. As he turned to walk out the door, Tubbo noticed something. There was a circular imprint on the small back pocket of his bag. He has a fleeting idea of what it might be, but didn’t mention it. </p><p>
  <em>      Besides, how could Ranboo get such a thing? </em>
</p><p>     Still, it was a queer thing. <em> Interesting, </em> he thought. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For those who can't read the unicode, the letter says - </p><p>Dear President Tubbo,<br/>I'm formally scheduling a meeting between us two at sunset, on December 22nd of 2020.<br/>The meeting shall commence in the woods outside of my portal.<br/>Keep in mind that this meeting is HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.<br/>Do not tell anyone EVEN YOUR OWN MOTHER about it. Especially don't tell Dream. </p><p>Sincerely, Tommy</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>     Tommy had a lot of preparing to do. He had written everything out so he wouldn’t forget. </p><p>     First off, he had to find someone to deliver the invitation. That part was made easy by the fact that almost <em>nobody</em> came around anymore, apart from Ranboo. Even Wilbur, his first choice for the matter, must’ve found something better to do. While Tommy didn’t fully trust him, Ranboo would have to do. </p><p>     After giving him the letter, he swore him to secrecy. “If you show, tell, or so much as HINT about this to ANYONE, you’re a dead man.” </p><p>     “You don’t have to worry about that, Tommy,” he replied with a dismissive air. Later that day, he saw Ranboo discussing something with Dream. He couldn’t hear what the conversation was about, but he saw Dream hand something over to the two-faced endermen, something small and black. In return, Ranboo gave the masked man a fancy trident. Tommy could tell it was enchanted by the way it shined a purplish hue. When he asked Dream about it later, he was ignored, with another dismissive reply, “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”</p><p>     Naturally, this made him worry. </p><p> </p><p>     He gathered a good set of armor and tools, so he would be prepared if Tubbo were to attack. It was unlikely, but better safe than sorry. He only had one life left, and didn’t want to lose it. </p><p>     The location was, to say the least, fit for a dramatic confrontation. Tommy had forgotten to chop wood for a while, and the little woods leading up to the portal had grown into a wild forest. That, and the fact that their meeting would happen at night, set up a great atmosphere for yelling at his one-friend-turned-dictator. </p><p>     He brewed some night vision so he wouldn’t have to light up the woods, which might alert Dream. As for him, Tommy realized he couldn’t tell him about this without being yelled at for ‘being weak’ and ‘letting his feelings get the best of him’. He knew Dream meant well, but sometimes he could be a bit overprotective. After all, he only wanted what was best for Tommy. And with no one else visiting him, they had become close. As much as he needed someone to confide in, he had to keep quiet. He sighed in frustration. He watched as an air bubble floated to the surface of the water. </p><p>     Realization set in. </p><p>     Tommy swam to the surface as quickly as he could. He panted for breath. </p><p><em>      That’s the 5th time this week, </em>he thought. These ‘episodes’ were becoming more and more frequent. </p><p>
  <em>      I can tell Dream about this, at least.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>     Now was the hardest part to prepare for: his speech. </p><p>     “Alright, Tubbo,” he said, practicing in his tent. “Youre probably wondering why I brought you here toda-” he paused. “No, that sounds too pretentious.”</p><p>     He changed his faux-serious demeanor to a happy one. “Hi, there, Tubbs, thanks for exiling me, it's been a blast! My favorite part was when no one came to my party except for Dream, and I wanted him to murder me just to make it all stop.”</p><p><em>      Alright, that was a bit too much information. </em> He tried again. </p><p>     “Okay, Tubbo. I know that exileing me was your ‘duty’, or whatever, but that’s all it should be. Your duty. We can still be friends. You can still talk to me or come to my parties. You don’t have to completely ditch me like-”</p><p>     “You're talking to yourself again, Tommy!” Yelled Dream from outside the tent. He was back. </p><p>     “Oh, SORRY!” He yelled back. <em> What did he mean by ‘again’? Have I talked to myself before? </em></p><p>     He quieted down. So much for practicing. </p><p> </p><p>     As the sun set, Tommy started doubting the specifics of his plan. </p><p><em>      There’s a reason why he hasn’t come to see you, </em> He thought. <em> Even if he shows up, then what? He hates me, he’ll probably try to stab me as soon as he sees me. </em> He realized armor was a good idea on his part. <em> This meeting was a bad idea.  </em></p><p>     But it was too late to back out now. Besides, this confrontation was dearly needed. Tommy needed to hear the unaltered facts. Not from rumors, but straight from the source. He didn’t want any more “maybe”’s. He wanted the truth. </p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><br/></p><p>     “Are you ready?” </p><p>     Ranboo and Tubbo stood outside the portal that would lead to Logchesire. The entrance hadn’t changed since he had last seen Tommy. Obviously, there wasn’t much time spent on decoration. </p><p>     He had brought Ranboo, or rather he had invited himself, for emotional support. He already knew about the meeting, so what was the harm?</p><p>     Tubbo took a deep breath. “As ready as I can be.” He put one foot in the portal. </p><p>     “Wait!” </p><p>     Tubbo turned. “What?”</p><p>     “Yesterday, Tommy told me that you should take your armor off. He said that the meeting is supposed to be a ‘peaceful ordeal’. I'm sure you understand.”</p><p>     Tubbo wondered why he hadn’t put that in the invite beforehand. But, he eventually took off his helmet. <em> He’s probably just paranoid.  </em></p><p>     After taking off the rest of his armor, he asked “Can you watch this while I’m in there? I won’t be long, I promise.”</p><p>     “No problem”</p><p>     With that, Tubbo stepped fully through the portal. </p><p>     Ranboo didn't wait for him to come back. He walked off, having scored himself a set of netherite armor. </p><p> </p><p>     Tubbo stepped out into the dark overworld, the only light coming from the portal behind him. When his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was standing in the middle of a thick forest. He looked for any signs of life, any figure standing there. </p><p>     “Hello, Tubbo,” he heard from above. He saw Tommy sitting in a tree in front of him. </p><p>     He looked… bigger. That’s when Tubbo realized that he was wearing armor. </p><p><em>      He lied to me! This isn’t a meeting, this is an ambush! </em>Luckily, he still had his sword, which he drew. He didn’t know if ghosts could kill still-alive people, but he didn’t want to find out. At another glance, he saw smoke pour out from the ghost boy’s armor. </p><p>     “Relax, Mister <em> President </em>, I’m not going to kill you yet,” Tommy joked. </p><p>     The humor flew over Tubbo’s head. “Why did you invite me here? To kill me? Are you sure you can even <em> do </em>that?”</p><p>     Tommy dismissed Tubbo’s oddly worded questions. “I just wanted to talk. You know, about my exile.” This made Tubbo wince. </p><p>     Tommy continued. “You know, this is the THIRD time I’ve been exiled. And not <em> once </em>did I think you would be the one to do it. I understand Schlatt. He needed his competition out of the way. I understand Dream now. We’ve become quite close over the exile.”</p><p>     “Oh, that green bastard is your friend now,” Tubbo spat. “He wanted you exiled, if you remember. I’m just the one who did it.”</p><p>     “Well, lately he’s been a better friend that you have. You never visit. He’s here all the time. Now I <em> wonder why that is. </em>”</p><p>     “Oh, like he’d let me see you.”</p><p>     “Maybe, if you asked politely. Or wait, did you never ask?”</p><p>     That shut Tubbo up. “That’s what I thought. You know, I’ve been through the whole exile ordeal before, but this time, it’s really taken a toll on me. I’m forgetting where I am, I feel stressed out a lot, all that. And I don’t think it's because ‘third times a charm’, that this time it miraculously broke me. I think it’s because of who did the exile.”</p><p>     “Have you thought that maybe it <em> wasn’t </em>the exile that did that?” Tubbo interrupted. “Maybe there’s another reason why you're so fucked up?”</p><p>     “And what’s <em> that </em>supposed to mean?”</p><p>     “Christ, Tommy, are you blind?”</p><p>     “Well, obviously I am! Just another reason why I’m ‘so fucked up’. Why don’t you tell me what I’m missing?”</p><p>     “If that’s what you want,” he yelled accidentally, in the heat of the moment. <em> What if someone heard? </em> He took a deep breath to cool down. Then, he told Tommy the truth. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Spoiler/Content/Trigger warning on the next chapter:<br/>Suicide and death. Shit's going down basically.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. "I'm dead"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “You're dead, Tommy.”</p><p>     Tommy laughed at the absurdity of it. “Yeah, sure, I’m a ghost. Boo!”</p><p>     “Jesus, Tommy, are you that dense?”</p><p>     “Yeah, I guess I am. Sorry for not believing you. If you haven’t noticed, I’m standing right in front of you.”</p><p>     “<em> If you haven’t noticed </em>,” Tubbo mocked, “You’re translucent, there’s wisps of smoke coming off of you, and your FEET,” he started shouting again, “AREN’T TOUCHING THE GROUND!”</p><p>     “That’s ridi-” Tommy looked at his feet. He was shocked. He really was levitating. </p><p>     “Alright, what kind of trick is this? Really, you threw a potion at me to make me think-”</p><p>     “Tommy.”</p><p>     He paused, with Tubbo’s line bringing him out of his rant. They stared at each other. </p><p>     “Why would I lie to you about this? Give me a straight answer if you can.”</p><p>     He couldn’t. “Well-”</p><p>     “And don’t tell me that it doesn’t make sense. You said yourself, you’ve been forgetting things”</p><p>     “Please,” he said with confidence. “I remember l’manburg. I remember Wilbur, Fundy, <em> Eret </em> . The revolution. Schlatt. The festival. The wars. I remember the hell we went through. I remember the hell <em> you </em>put me through.”</p><p>     But he didn’t remember where he put the discs. He didn’t remember to chop the trees down. He didn’t remember half the chores Dream gave him. Hell, he didn’t remember what he did just yesterday. <em> That doesn’t mean… </em></p><p>     “Oh, <em> I remember this and this and this. </em> You sound like a broken record. Wilbur could say the same <em> bullshit </em> you are. You’re quite similar now, aren’t you?” Tubbo knew that he was being cruel, but he didn’t care. The extreme obliviousness of him was enough to make anyone short-tempered. Tommy wanted the truth, and he was getting it. </p><p>     Tommy remembered Wilbur, how he had said they looked the same. “I’m nothing like Wilbur.”</p><p>     This wasn’t a lie, either. Wilbur was a madman in his last few months, but had mellowed out as a ghost. He was trying, at the very least, to make up for his forgotten mistakes. Wilbur and ‘Ghost-bur’ were like two different people. Meanwhile, Tommy felt like he was going mad everyday. Zoning out enough for it to be worrying, getting lost, losing things. Bad dreams. Not having anyone but Dream to talk to, and even then being brushed off. </p><p>     Wilbur had gotten better. <em> He </em> had gotten much worse. </p><p>     You’re.. You’re lying,” Tommy said, his confidence wavering. </p><p>     “Face it, Tommy.” Tubbo’s stare was ice. “You believe me. The evidence is all there. Accept it.”</p><p>     Tommy couldn’t accept it. </p><p>
  <em>      How long had it been? </em>
</p><p>     He couldn’t. </p><p>
  <em>      Who did this? </em>
</p><p>     Almost as soon as it had started up, his brain shut down, as if a self-destruct button had been pressed. He stared at the floor without seeing it, dead to the world. </p><p> </p><p>     After some time, he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He blinked hard, then slowly looked up. Tubbo’s stare had melted into tears. </p><p>     “Do you remember how it happened?”</p><p>     “No.” He couldn’t remember much of anything. </p><p>     ...Except his dream. </p><p>     It always started, went, and ended the same. He would find himself in the depths of the ocean. Everything would turn black. But he remembered more than that. </p><p>     He remembered swimming down until his lungs failed him. He remembered the satisfaction of watching each bubble rise and pop. He remembered bittersweet relief after his eyes closed one final time. He remembered waking up from that dream for the first time, feeling different in an indescribable way. </p><p>     “Tommy? Tommy, what is it?” Tubbo said, worry paining his voice. </p><p>     Tommy pulled him into a tight hug. </p><p>     “I remember.”</p><p>     “Oh.”</p><p>     He went limp in his old friends arms. “I’m dead.”</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>     “It’s alright, it’s going to be okay,” Tubbo lied. </p><p>     “No, it’s not,” Tommy replied in a nasaly voice. “It will <em> never </em> be okay, what happened.”</p><p>     They stayed like that for a while, Tubbo trying to comfort Tommy, while he processed what had happened. “It might not feel okay right now, but you’ll get through this.” He knew those words weren’t helping anything. How are you supposed to comfort someone mourning themselves?</p><p>     “You don’t understand, Tubbo.” He pulled away from his friend. “It wasn’t Dream, or Ranboo, or anyone like that. It was-”</p><p>     He stopped and stared at the woods behind Tubbo. In the quietest voice, he whispered “Dream.”</p><p>     Before Tubbo could have any sort of reaction, he felt a sharp jab in his back. He fell to his knees as his eyes glazed over. Gasping for air, he fell unconscious. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> ...What. Did. You. Do.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I had a plan. I completed it.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Ranboo told you about this, that bastard, I should've never trusted him </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh, I knew about your little meeting before he told me. It was only a matter of bribery before he helped me. He seems to like ‘cat’ a lot more than you did. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ...You took my discs? So I didn’t lose them? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I did what I had to do, Tommy. And you did lose them. I just happened to find them before you did.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh, so that was all part of your ‘master plan’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Believe me, your SUICIDE wasn’t part of my ‘master plan’.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> So you… you knew… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Well, I didn’t see it myself, but I could guess. No one else was around that could've killed you. And you looked so pitiful the night before. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what happened.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ...How did I not find out? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Believe me, I’m as shocked as you are. But, like I said, ghosts are ignorant, weak. I wasn’t worried.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> … </em>
</p><p><b> <em>Sigh</em> </b> <em> . You know, this wouldn’t have happened if you’d just stayed in you- </em></p><p>
  <em> Get your hands off me. And LEAVE! You've don't what you came here to do. Now leave me alone.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Fine. Go mourn. I have a country to take over waiting for me.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>     Silence ran through the forest as Dream stepped through the portal. </p><p>     “Tubbo…”</p><p>     He stirred. His head felt fuzzy, as if he’d awoken from a restless night. He moved his arms and pushed away from the floor. When he finally stood, there was a shooting pain in his chest. He winced. When he opened his eyes, he saw Tommy kneeling on the floor. </p><p>     “It’s fine, I’m fine,” he tried to say. Suddenly, another shot of pain went through his chest. He almost fell back down. Still reeling, he said “No, I’m okay, I’m fine.”</p><p>     He looked at Tommy, who’s eyes darted between Tubbo’s feet and head. </p><p>     He looked down. </p><p>     Under his feet, to his surprise, was himself. He laid on the ground, unmoving. In his back were 3 consecutive holes, all filled with blood. His head had turned to the side. Drool puddled under his mouth, and there was a hollow look in his eyes. Tubbo looked at <em> his </em>, not the other’s hands. He could see right through them, and instead stared at his body. </p><p>     Tommy started apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry Tubbo I lead him here if I had just been more careful you wouldn’t.. I’m so sorry it’s all my fault I-”</p><p>     “Tommy.” He stopped apologizing. </p><p>     They were both in the air now, knees bent slightly, arms slack, looking as if they hadn’t slept or showered in days. </p><p>     “It’s not your fault. This isn't your fault” </p><p>     He looked at his corpse again, through his hands. </p><p>     “I-” he sniffled. “I’m dead.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alright. There we go.<br/>I might do an epiologue later, but for now, it's done. <br/>Thank you all fo reading!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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